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Fluffy, warm, sweet potato pancakes are the perfect autumn breakfast or brunch dish. With hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and brown sugar, these better-than-box-mix pancakes totally embrace the spirit (and flavors) of the season.
Looking for more of a classic pancake? Try our recipes for Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Paleo Pancakes, Fluffy Gluten-Free Pancakes, and our Halloween-ready Jack O Lantern Pancakes.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- A breakfast food that incorporates all the deliciousness of autumn? Say no more. These sweet potato pancakes are rich, warm, and a little sweet. And even though pancakes are traditionally a “breakfast” food, we like to get a little wild and have pancakes at lunch, dinner, or even as a dessert. These are perfect any time of day.
- This a great way to use up leftover sweet potatoes after the holidays! If you cook whole sweet potatoes as a side and end up with too many extra, just scoop out the insides of the potatoes, mash them up, and turn them into pancakes.
- Sweet potato pancakes are SUPER easy to make and once you get on a roll, they cook really quickly, too. Still, you can totally make them in advance if you want. Keep them refrigerated in an airtight container and reheat them in the microwave or the toaster. You can even freeze the pancakes to enjoy a month or two down the road! Just wrap them really well in plastic wrap and store them in an airtight, freezer-safe container or freezer bag. You could also vacuum-seal them!
Key Ingredients
Sweet Potato – Skip the canned stuff. These pancakes turn out best with fresh sweet potatoes! You can use Thanksgiving leftovers or cook a sweet potato specifically for this recipe. Either way, you want to start with a sweet potato that’s been fully cooked (baked, air fried, cooked in the Instant Pot, or microwaved) then mashed up.
Spices – Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and brown sugar. All the classic flavors of the holiday season that compliment a sweet potato BEAUTIFULLY. They add an incredible depth and warmth to the sweet potato pancakes that really puts things over the top!
Chef’s Tips
- Have you ever heard of the first pancake rule? In a nutshell, it’s sort of a rule that the first pancake in every batch is always awful. The skillet is too hot or too cool, the bubbles don’t bubble enough so you flip the pancakes too late, the batter bleeds together so you end up with one giant pancake, it falls apart when you flip it… You kind of have to get into a pancake-making rhythm. Don’t be upset if your first sweet potato pancake doesn’t turn out perfectly!
- Note that this recipe for sweet potato pancakes calls for kosher salt specifically. If you’re using a different type of salt (like table salt), you’ll need to adjust the amount you use so you don’t over- or under-salt the batter.
- You don’t need any fancy equipment to prep the pancake batter – a good old bowl and whisk will work just fine! If you want to make the recipe even easier, you can use a hand mixer, stand mixer, or even a blender to combine your wet and dry ingredients. Just don’t over-mix!
- Instead of topping the pancakes with whole toasted pecans, try chopping them up very fine and gently mixing them into the sweet potato pancake batter! Adding them that way will distribute them throughout each and every pancake. If you’re feeding people with a nut allergy (or who just don’t like nuts in things) then stick to adding them on top, or skip them completely.
Can’t Get Enough Sweet Potatoes? Try These Recipes!
- Sweet Potato Soup
- Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
- Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes
- Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
- Southern Sweet Potato Pudding
- Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
- Sweet Potato Soufflé
- Healthy Creamy Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Ranch (Whole30, Paleo)
- Crockpot Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Hash
- Ruth’s Chris Sweet Potato Casserole
Sweet Potato Pancakes
Fluffy, warm, sweet potato pancakes are the perfect autumn breakfast or brunch dish. With hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and brown sugar, these better-than-box-mix pancakes totally embrace the spirit (and flavors) of the season.
pancakes
Equipment
- Large bowls (2)
- whisk
- Large skillet (or griddle)
- Ladle (or measuring cup)
- Spatula
- Plate
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour see Notes
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar see Notes
- ½ cup mashed sweet potato see Notes
- 1 ½ cups milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- coconut oil for cooking
- maple syrup optional, for topping
- butter optional, for topping
- toasted pecans optional, for topping
Instructions
- In one large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, kosher salt, nutmeg, ginger, and brown sugar.
- In second large bowl, whisk together mashed sweet potato, milk, and vanilla extract. Once combined, gently whisk in 2 large eggs.
- Slowly pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, whisking continually, until all ingredients are fully combined. Be careful not to overwork batter.
- Heat large skillet or griddle over medium heat. Once hot, add just enough oil to coat bottom of skillet. Heat oil until shimmering.
- Ladle batter into skillet (or onto griddle) to form pancakes, being careful not to let pancakes touch. Note: I use ⅓ cup batter per pancake. Let pancakes cook, undisturbed, until bubbles begin to form on top of pancakes.
- Gently flip pancakes over and cook 2 to 4 minutes on opposite side, until edges are golden brown. Transfer cooked pancakes to plate and repeat process with remaining batter until all pancakes have been cooked.
- Divide pancakes as desired and top with maple syrup, butter, and toasted pecans (all optional). Serve warm.
- Sweet Potato: You want to start with a sweet potato that’s been fully cooked (baked, air fried, cooked in the Instant Pot, or microwaved) and then mashed up.
- Make it Dairy Free: Use your favorite unsweetened dairy-free milk and use dairy-free butter for topping (or skip the butter completely).
- Make it Gluten Free: Use 1 ¾ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour.
- Make it Added Sugar Free: Use Brown Swerve instead of brown sugar.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1pancakeCalories: 84calProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 182mgPotassium: 71mgTotal Carbs: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gNet Carbs: 13gVitamin A: 661IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 65mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Can you use the sweet potatoes that’s in the can if you don’t have sweet potatoes
That should work fine! Just be sure to drain them first. 😊
One of the best recipes I’ve ever tried
So glad to hear this! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
These are amazing. For a minute I thought I could open my own brunch restaurant; they were so good. Fluffy and tasty they are a must make if you want to take your pancakes to the next level.
What a compliment! Thanks for sharing, Becky. We’re so glad you enjoyed them!